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State Water Resources Control Board Order No. 2006-0003 Page 4 of 20 Statewide General WDR For Wastewater Collection Agencies 5/2/06 water quality in the area, costs associated with compliance with these requirements, the need for developing housing within California, and the need to develop and use recycled water. 16. The Federal Clean Water Act largely prohibits any discharge of pollutants from a point source to waters of the United States except as authorized under an NPDES permit. In general, any point source discharge of sewage efFluent to waters of the United States must comply with technology-based, secondary treatment standards, at a minimum, and any more stringent requirements necessary to meet applicable water quality standards and other requirements. Hence, the unpermitted discharge of wastewater from a sanitary sewer system to waters of the United States is illegal under the Clean Water Act. In addition, many Basin Plans adopted by the Regional Water Boards contain discharge prohibitions that apply to the discharge of untreated or partially treated wastewater. Finally, the California Water Code generally prohibits the discharge of waste to land prior to the filing of any required report of waste discharge and the subsequent issuance of either WDRs or a waiver of WDRs. 17. California Water Code section 13263 requires a water board to, after any necessary hearing, prescribe requirements as to the nature of any proposed discharge, existing discharge, or material change in an existing discharge. The requirements shall, among other things, take into consideration the need to prevent nuisance. 18. California Water Code section 13050, subdivision (m), defines nuisance as anything which meets all of the following requirements: a. Is injurious to health, or is indecent or offensive to the senses, or an obstruction to the free use of property, so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property. b. Affects at the same time an entire community or neighborhood, or any considerable number of persons, although the extent of the annoyance or damage inflicted upon individuals may be unequal. c. Occurs during, or as a result of, the treatment or disposal of wastes. 19. This Order is consistent with State Water Board Resolution No. 68-16 (Statement of Policy with Respect to Maintaining High Quality of Waters in California) in that the Order imposes conditions to prevent impacts to water quality, does not allow the degradation of water quality, will not unreasonab-y affect beneficial uses of water, and will not result in water quality less than prescribed in State Water Board or Regional Water Board plans and policies. 20. The action to adopt this General Order is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (Public Resources Code §21000 et seq.) because it is an action taken by a regulatory agency to assure the protection of the environment and the regulatory process involves procedures for protection of the environment. (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 14, §15308). In addition, the action to adopt